First Falluja, then Mosul, and now the oil-refinery town of Bayji. The rapid advance of Al Qaeda-inspired militants across the Sunni heartland of northern and western Iraq has been stunning and relentless—and utterly predictable. Here’s a forecast: the bad news is just beginning.
As the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) threatened Western Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki secretly asked the Obama administration to consider carrying out air strikes against the terrorist organization, according to the New York Times.
Sunni jihadists pushed in a lightening offensive from northern Iraq and seized Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, just 80 miles north of Baghdad.
Opposition sources said ISIS, deemed the most powerful Al Qaida franchise in the Middle East, has captured a swathe of territory from the northern city of Aleppo to the Iraqi border. They said the corridor would enable a flow of fighters and weapons from Syria to Iraq. “We plan to establish an Islamic emirate in the Levant,” ISIS commander Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi said.
The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Thursday created an economic union that intends to boost cooperation between the ex-Soviet neighbors, a pact which was at the source of the crisis in Ukraine.
European elections reach their culmination on “Super Sunday” when the remaining 20 of the EU’s 28 countries go to the polls, with the vote expected to confirm the dominance of pro-European centrists despite a rise in support for the far-right and left.
Eritrean security forces recently raided yet another prayer meeting, arresting about 150 Christians in a suburb of Asmara, the African nation’s capital, according to Religion Today.
More than four months after Islamic rebels seized control of the Christian-majority Central African Republic (CAR), many non-Muslims are now faced with the prospect of being forced to live under Islamic law, according to Morning Star News.
Worthy News’ up to date blog covering Operation Pillar of Defense with detailed accounts, pictures, and videos.
Syrian Christians are reportedly targeted by rebels linked to Islamic terror groups and it remained unclear whether everyone fleeing the violence would be able to reach neighboring Turkey.
Islamic militants with ties to terror group al-Qaida have launched the “ethnic cleansing of minority Christians” in Syria, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the embattled Syrian city of Homs and other areas, aid workers confirmed Tuesday, March 27.
Barnabas Aid is sending emergency relief to Christians trapped in Homs after the withdrawal of anti-government forces from the Baba Amr district.
Muslim extremists with the alleged aid of Nigerian soldiers killed 24 Christians this month in Nigeria’s central Plateau.
Sudanese Military agents killed one Christian and Islamic militants another last week after attacking churches in Sudan’s embattled South Kordofan state.
Up to 200,000 Christians are among the millions impacted by deadly flooding in Pakistan Worthy News learned Tuesday, August 17, but the United Nations warned that only a fraction of flood victims have received any help.
The incoming prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, has introduced ministers of what observers say will be the smallest Cabinet since the country’s communist regime collapsed in 1989. His incoming center right government will have to lift the European Union member from a deep recession.
Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai has condemned his country’s political climate ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections Sunday, April 11, as opinion polls show a far right political party will receive many votes. There is also international concern about the favorite to win the ballot, the main center right opposition party Fidesz, after its leader criticized a European Union deal on foreign landownership.
The Dutch coalition government has collapsed amid a political row over whether to extend the country’s military mission in Afghanistan. Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was due to submit his government’s resignation to Queen Beatrix later Saturday, leaving the future of its 1,600 soldiers stationed there uncertain.
Lithuania has closed down its Soviet-built nuclear power plant as part of an agreement with the European Union, ushering in a new era of energy uncertainty for the country.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and activist Elie Wiesel has urged Hungary to consider banning Holocaust denials to improve its image abroad and has expressed concern about growing extremist parties in the country and Europe.